Welcome

I work at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History where I lead students in our Outdoor Nature Exploration program. I hear amazing things from kids. This blog is a chance to share the quotes, stories, and insights. Most students are very uncomfortable being outside. Some are terrified. Indoor childhoods have robbed kids of the very personal connection to nature that I experienced as a free-range kid of the fifties. With just a bit of encouragement, kids go from fear to wonder and curiosity in a very short time. There seems to be a genetic memory of the natural connection children feel with the natural world. After all, this was how children developed for eons of human history. We know that children who have unstructured time to play in a natural setting are happier, healthier, and smarter. It's time to reconnect children and nature.